headset issues:

i have a ritchey logic [https://www.nashbar.com/profile.cfm?c...eid=&pagename= ] headset on my bike--i bought it thinking, "well, i don't have much money, and a headset is just a headset. how important can it be?"

well that bit me in the arse. the damn thing won't stay in adjustment. i'll take the play out of the thing, ride a bit, and after oh, say, between five and twenty miles, there's play again. sometimes very bad, and it's ridiculous, and frustrating. to be fair to it, i ride on some pretty rough roads, but still.

i might not get the opportunity to replace it too soon. can chronic play cause any unforeseen damage to, i don't know, my headtube or steerer?

what do folks recommend for a good/affordable upgrade? say, inside the $40 range. 1 1/8", threadless...

Cane Creeks are nice, and can be found for cheap. FSA headsets are also quite nice and often on eBay in that price range.

while we are at it. what about threaded 1" in the 50.00 or less range. hmmm.

Perhaps I'm clueless, but I'm not sure how your headset can be coming loose provided everything is properly tightened up. Threadless headsets just don't come loose the way theraded do (and even then it's again a question of not using enough torque).

While nothing special, Ritchey doesn't make garbage.

maybe Ritchey doesn't make garbage, BT, but this was a pretty bottom of the barrel headset...

would it be a question of torque on the top cap prior to tightening the bolts holding the stem to the steerer, or, as i would assume from your comment, just torquing the **** out of the bolts on the stem?

i've heard this before about ritchey logic headsets. weird.

A little from column a, a little from column b. The cap needs to be snug enough that the bearings won't develop play under load. There's a torque value that will give you the proper preload. Once you've done that, then just tighten the living bejesus out of the stem bolts. Strip, then back off 1/4 turn.

Since you're not noticing the stem move around, I wonder if you've got enough preload on the cap bolt.

Edit: but if Ritchey has a reputation for this, maybe I'm just talking out of my ass. It's been known to happen.

There's nothing wrong with that headset. I've used $5 generic crap headsets which performed fine. Are you preloading it properly before cinching the stem bolts..?

I use the Cane Creek C2 headset. No complaints so far. I picked it up at eBay for ~20 +s/h.

...i thought your breath smelled funny...

threadless--cane creek
threaded 1"--shimano ultegra

not sure i agree with you on this one.

yes? i think so. BT said there was a torque value, and i am sans torque wrench, so i was just tightening it until it was Very Snug.

of these two which would you choose for low end headset...
https://cgi.ebay.com/Ritchey-Logic-Th...QQcmdZViewItem
https://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-in-box-Tange...QQcmdZViewItem

Both cups and fork crown race pressed and seated as far as they go?

not sure, but they were installed by a mechanic i worked with whose work i trust.

head tube ovalized?

whichever one had the right stack height.

or

https://cgi.ebay.com/Dura-Ace-1-seale...QQcmdZViewItem

I just installed one of these on my steamroller (was going cheap as well), and was having a similar problem without evan getting the bike on the road. I would install the little bugger and there would be play back and forth between the stem and frame. The reason that was happening was that bearings in the retainers are two sizes. I believe the larger bearings need to go on the bottom and the smaller on the top. If you have them switched everything can't fit together and tighten correctly. Maybe go to the Ritchey website to confirm I have the what/where correct, but once I got this straightened out I have had zero problems.

That would be my question too. when you installed the cups and race did you use a proper press, or did you just whack them in with a mallet? To me it sounds like the cups or race are seating further as you ride thus introducing play. make sure they are fully seated before you adjust your headset otherwise it will keep loosening until they are.

Campy Chorus headset are about $50 on eBay. I use one on my fixie, and I like it a lot.

Yes, the large bearings go at the bottom as that's where most of the load is carried.